Elf Marc VDS’s Sam Lowes was up for the fight from the front row as the Italian GP kicked into gear on Sunday.

Unfortunately for the Brit, the end result didn’t meet his Mugello expectations after a tangle with his teammate Tony Arbolino at turn two three laps to the end saw him crash out of fifth.

Lowes had shown his intentions from the first lap, taking second position from Aron Canet at the downhill Savelli turn before running in podium contention as the race bedded in. Having dropped to the edge of the top six as the second half wound down, the 31-year-old was regrouping and upping the pace once again before the teammates came together and he slid out.

“I’m gutted,” Lowes said simply.

“It was an unfair end to a really good race considering the great work we did throughout the weekend.

”I had a good start and was showing some good pace. After the tough results in the last few races, I felt confident enough to get a solid top five finish today. I didn’t deserve a finish like this.”

“I want to apologise to Sam and the team for what happened as I didn’t mean to harm anyone,” Arbolino responded. “It was a long and intense race and at the time of the incident, it was difficult for me to control the bike and I did everything possible to avoid falling and taking both of us off the track. But unfortunately, the contact caused Sam to fall. It’s a real shame because after Le Mans we had both taken an important step forward.”